Abstract

Cybercrime, particularly through scams, have emerged as one of the most pressing transnational challenges confronting Southeast Asia. Across ASEAN, scam operations, such as online fraud, phishing and large-scale transnational scam centres, have generated substantial financial losses, social harm, and political pressure for effective responses. These activities have additionally exposed deeper structural vulnerabilities in anti-money laundering measures, digital governance, cross-border law enforcement cooperation, and the regulation of rapidly evolving digital financial ecosystems.

Accordingly, ASEAN has sought to elevate scams within its transnational crime and digital cooperation agendas. Most recently, the ASEAN Declaration on Combatting Cybercrime and Online Scams was adopted at the at the 19th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) in September 2025. ASEAN member states reaffirmed a collective commitment to strengthen cooperation, operationalised by the ASEAN Plan of Action in Combatting Transnational Crime 2026–2035. These initiatives intersect with ASEAN’s broader instruments, such as the ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy and the ASEAN Digital Masterplan, which emphasise resilience and consumer protection alongside digital growth.

However, significant implementation challenges persist, with uneven legal jurisdictions, investigative capacities and coordination gaps across layers of governance and jurisdictions. Public-private coordination has remained fragmented, despite the central role of private-sector intermediaries in both enabling and disrupting scams – particularly through telecommunications providers, online platforms, financial institutions, and digital currency services. Complex geopolitical factors further complicate regional cooperation, with ongoing intra-regional conflicts, such as the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict and the crisis in Myanmar.

This webinar is thus convened to provide an informed, policy-relevant discussion on the evolving scam landscape in Southeast Asia. Bringing together perspectives from international law enforcement, organised crime analysts, and policy experts, this webinar will examine the sources and structures of scams, assess ASEAN’s current response mechanisms and implementation gaps, and explore practical pathways for strengthening regional cooperation in an increasingly complex digital environment.

About the Speakers

Aizat Shamsuddin is the Founder and Director of the Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY). For the past decade, Aizat has been a dedicated analyst and practitioner in traditional and non-traditional security, focusing on crime and ideology. His expertise spans hate and violent extremism in both real and digital spaces, inter-group conflicts—primarily through INITIATE.MY—and transnational organised crime in Southeast Asia with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

Jason Tower is a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, where he works on organized crime, security and illicit economies in Southeast Asia. Jason has been based in Asia for over 20 years, and was one of the first analysts to expose cyber-slavery and the emergence of industrial scale scam compounds in the region. Since 2019, he has published dozens of reports and full-length studies on online scams, casino crimes, illicit economies and conflict in Myanmar, and his work has been featured in over 100 media outlets.

Yang Zi is a Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). His research interests include civil–military relations, military disintegration and defection, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, and Chinese intelligence history. Dr Yang has taught courses and delivered lecturers to graduate students and security professionals on China’s domestic politics and military affairs. His academic articles on China have been published in journals such as the International Journal of Asian Studies, the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Civil Wars, Comparative Strategy, International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Intelligence and National Security, and Asia Policy. In addition, he has authored four book chapters and over 70 commentaries for diverse outlets. Dr Yang holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Studies from RSIS, an M.A. in Asian Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and a B.A. in Global Affairs and History from George Mason University.